Mexico needs to provide long-term certainty to investors to unleash its economic growth potential, said Manuel Romo, CEO of Banamex.
“We believe there is much greater growth potential. In what way, or derived from what? Well, from greater investment. More investment is needed in the country, not only from foreigners, but also, and fundamentally, from Mexicans,” he emphasized.
“For this, we believe that a lot of work must be done on long-term certainty,” the banker stated in an interview after Citi announced on February 23 its agreement with a group of institutional investors to sell 24 percent of Grupo Financiero Banamex’s common shares for approximately 43 billion pesos.
If the transaction is approved by the financial authorities, the group will have sold 49 percent of its stake, since on December 15, 2025, it transferred 25 percent to businessman Fernando Chico Pardo.
“We announced the sale of an additional 24 percent of Banamex one day after the events in Guadalajara. Why? Because there are investors who believe in Mexico and in Banamex in the medium and long term, regardless of what is happening in the short term,” he emphasized.
Romo was referring to the unrest that erupted on February 22 in 20 states after federal forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The executive reiterated the importance of legal certainty for those seeking to invest in Mexico. “If investors don’t see a clear and predictable legal framework based on the rule of law, so they can secure their variables and projects, enormous uncertainty is generated, and there is no investment.”
He noted that it will be crucial to observe the implementation of the judicial reform, specifically the operational capacity of judges, the number of cases and the time it takes to resolve them, as well as how current regulations and laws are reinterpreted.
“Starting in 2027, we would resume the sale (of Banamex), either through an initial public offering (IPO) or private agreements; Citi will decide this based on what maximizes shareholder value,” Romo stated.
He affirmed that the sale is open to all options and there is no deadline for selling Banamex, as transaction options, investors, and markets that yield the greatest possible value for Citi must first be analyzed.
“We have anticipated that we will not see any further sales during 2026. The reason is that we will be waiting for this time to settle, for Fernando Chico Pardo’s tenure as chairman of the board to mature, and for the new investors to become the owners of Banamex,” he mentioned.
The operation will resume in 2027 because this year the administration wants to focus on implementing its business plan.
“And third, very importantly, because this way we cover two or three regulatory and legal issues that we must have ready for the IPO and that will be resolved by the end of 2026,” he added.
Meanwhile, the financial institution will be attentive to factors that could affect economic activity and the credit taken out by families and businesses.
These include the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the tariff policy of the neighboring country to the north, the valuation of stock markets, and the speed at which interest rates will be affected globally by the adjustments of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Banamex CEO predicted that lending will grow as individuals and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) receive payments digitally instead of in cash.
“There are very specific actions to take, for example, developing tools like CoDi and Dimo, and expanding our reach to small businesses and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) so they feel comfortable accepting digital payments with very low commission fees,” he admitted.
Finally, Romo detailed that Banamex invests $500 million annually in technology and that a “large portion” of that amount is related to customer security measures.
He commented that the bank has been using artificial intelligence to prevent fraud for some time and is currently using it to generate higher returns.
The offers customers receive in their mobile app are becoming increasingly personalized, as AI analyzes their usage profile.
Finally, he said that the bank will use AI in internal tools to generate efficiencies, such as in programming, reporting, analysis, presentations, and administrative tasks.
Source: jornada
